It's winter, and many of us are sneezing (especially if we didn't get our flu vaccine). But until the mid-1400s, people fnesed (this wonderfully evocative word was pronounced “fnayz”). While words starting with fn- became rare, there were many starting with sn-, especially nose-related ones like “snivel”, “sniff”, “snort”, and “snot”. Gradually the venerable “fnese”, which dated back to Anglo-Saxon times, was supplanted by “sneeze”.
For the history of the word "flu", click here, and if you're wondering how to make it plural, click here.
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For the history of the word "flu", click here, and if you're wondering how to make it plural, click here.
Don't forget you can share Wordlady posts with your facebook friends or twitter followers simply by clicking on the "Share this" buttons in the left-hand column!
Hello,
ReplyDeleteMy guess is (was!) that the current English word is related to (not directly, not descending from) the Latin one ("sternutare"). But that one started with an "s" longer time ago ...
So, I'm not sure anymore.
Thanks.
Not related to sternutare, but possibly ultimately related to the Greek root pneu (breathe).
ReplyDelete